


Hidden Ink

by ladyofthursday



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, New Relationship, Tattoo Artist Dean Winchester, bad tattoos, more like worry, old tattoos, very light angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-09 15:53:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16452857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyofthursday/pseuds/ladyofthursday
Summary: Castiel has never been embarrassed by his tattoo until he met Dean. Now he's finding every excuse not to get naked and show it off. But Dean is cute and Castiel can't hide his terrible ink, and the story behind it, forever, can he?





	Hidden Ink

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dmsilvis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dmsilvis/gifts).



> Ok, so I hadn't intended to write this today. But then the lovely Dmsilvisart came along and dropped this adorable plot bunny in my lap and it had those huge eyes you just can't say no to... so I wrote it. And I had a lot of fun doing it. 
> 
> Special thanks to tobythewise for looking this over! 
> 
> If you want to come say hi, you can find me on tumblr here: [ladyofthursday](https://ladyofthursday.tumblr.com/)
> 
> The prompt was: Dean and Cas start dating and all is going great... but Cas keeps putting off getting naked during sex and it confuses Dean. Basically it all comes down to Cas not wanting Dean to see an old tattoo he has of an exes name. Until Dean he wasn't active sexually since that ex so it wasn't a big deal.

Castiel had never really been that bothered about the tattoo before he started seeing Dean.

It had been a reminder of this mistake he’d made and although it was horribly cheesy, it was easy to hide on a day-to-day basis so he never had to look at it. Plus he’d never had any sexual partners to hide it from either. 

That was until he met Dean… 

He’d been in a bar one Friday night a few weeks back, waiting for his brother for their monthly get together. Gabe was running late, as always, so Castiel was sat at the bar, drink in hand, just waiting. He hadn’t been expecting anyone to sit down and start flirting with him, especially not a tattoo-artist with wild green eyes and plump lips and endless freckles that made Cas want to lie and count them. 

Cas had, predictably, stumbled through the interaction, given his lack of flirting experience. But somehow Dean had still been interested, and when he lifted his third beer to his lips, shooting Castiel a wink and wrapping his lips around the rim, Cas had felt his pants tighten faster than they had in his life. 

They’d ended up back at Dean’s apartment, fucking half dressed against the wall and then again on the couch… and on the bed. It had been easy to keep his shirt on that night - he’d just told Dean that he’d rather not take it off and the other man had shrugged and started sucking hickeys into Castiel’s hipbones. 

Cas didn’t expect them to become a thing. At best he hoped they might become fuck-buddies, at worst it was an extraordinary night of passion that had broken Castiel’s three years of self imposed celibacy and could be chalked up to one of the best nights of his life. But somehow, Dean had wormed his way into Cas’s life and they’d now been dating for a month. Dean was everything that Cas had ever wanted in a partner: kind, sweet, funny, caring and they had amazingly hot sex. But, it was also getting harder and harder to come up with excuses not to strip off. 

It was just… embarrassing. Besides, what if Dean took one look at it and dumped Cas on the spot?  

Currently, they were sat on Cas’s couch binging the latest season of Castlevania and eating the last bits of a giant bowl of mac and cheese. Cas wasn’t really paying attention, instead he was picking over the last few pieces of macaroni on his plate and contemplating about whether he should tell Dean. 

“Cas?” Dean’s voice cut through his thoughts, and he turned to see Dean’s handsome face wrinkled with worry. “What’s up? Something bothering you?” 

“Maybe,” Cas muttered, sighing as he tried to find the right words. “Can I show you something?”

“Of course, everything ok?”

“No, yes… I’m not sure.” Cas slid his bowl onto the coffee table and twisted the hem of his t-shirt in his hands. 

“Does this have something to do with why you won’t get naked?” Dean asked. “Which is totally fine, I’m not gonna pressure you.”

“I know, but it’s something you ought to see… just please, hear me out before you make a decision.” 

“You’re kinda scaring me, babe. But sure.”

Cas took a deep breath and pulled the fabric over his head, dropping it on the floor. He tried not to watch Dean’s face, but it was impossible. He waited for the disapproval, the disappointment and for the inevitable break up. But instead, Dean’s face twisted into a grin and he shook his head. 

“Is that what I think it is?” He chuckled, reaching a hand out to caress the soft skin of Cas’s pectoral. 

“Probably,” Cas said, chewing his lip. “I’m sorry.” 

“Why are you sorry?” Dean smiled as he ran his fingers over the outlines of the tattoo inked into Cas’s chest, just to the left of his heart.It was incredibly cheesy as far as designs went, but it had been what Daphne wanted so Cas had just gone with it.  

In hindsight, getting a tattoo of a girl’s name on your chest was pretty far up there on the list of stupid things to do in a relationship. But they’d been young and in love, and Castiel had been sure that they would get married and live happily ever after. 

Boy, had he been wrong.

They’d met at church at the age of sixteen, and Cas had fallen head over heels for Daphne. She was beautiful and sweet, and Cas couldn’t imagine someone more perfect. They’d decided not to have sex until later, and it wasn’t until Cas had given her a promise ring that they’d finally done it.

They’d gone to the same college, determined to date throughout and get married afterwards. They’d gotten the tattoos not long after they started, as a symbol of commitment and love - done cheaply by a friend of Gabe’s, who had no problem tattooing the names of partners onto two lovesick teenagers. Daphne had said it was the ultimate sign of love, and that she couldn’t wait for college to be done with. She’d also insisted on separate dorms for purity reasons. She said, they shouldn’t have sex that much because it wasn’t good for them, or their relationship. 

It wasn’t until one night, when Cas had dropped by for an unexpected visit that he’d discovered a very different reason for separate dorms. His name was Alex. He was the school’s star quarterback… and he wasn’t the only one who was very familiar was Castiel’s girlfriend. Apparently, most of the football team was. And some of the baseball team… and a couple of the swim team too… 

The breakup had been ugly. And Castiel was left with a broken heart and a terrible tattoo. 

He relayed all this to Dean, watching with morbid fascination as the smile never left Dean’s lips. 

“Do you ever think about getting it covered?” Dean asked.

“Maybe… but cover ups are expensive and it hurt so much the first time… wait, aren’t you upset?”

Dean laughed, “why would I be upset? Dude, do you know how many of these I’ve seen? Why do you think I make it my policy never to ink people’s partners names?” He pulled Cas into a hug, and Cas went willingly, burying his head in Dean’s chest. 

“I just thought… you know, that it was someone else’s name.”

“Well, one: we’ve only been dating a few weeks. And two, if I was mad that would make me a total dick.” Dean pressed a soft kiss to his temple, hands stroking up and down Cas’s stomach. “I am mad about one thing though.”

“What?”

“That I’ve been denied these abs! Seriously sweetheart, these are gorgeous. I’m having fun with them later.” 

Cas giggled, his fears melting away into a puddle. He couldn’t believe how worked up he’d gotten. Of course Dean wouldn’t mind - he just wasn’t that sort of person. 

“You know, if you want to get it covered, I could do it for you?” Dean said casually. 

“Really? You’d do that?”

“Course, it would be fun!” 

“... I’ll think about it.” 

“Good,” Dean said, sliding his hands lower to the waistband of Castiel’s jeans. “Now, I think you deserve a reward for sharing.” 

Cas groaned and the last of his fears evaporated. 

 

Three weeks later he found himself in Dean’s parlour, stretched out on a padded seat as his boyfriend hummed happily beside him. A couple of hours later, he walked out with an aching chest and a brand new tattoo. 

 

Three years later, he and Dean left the parlour with matching tattoos curling around their ring fingers. 

  
  



End file.
